Shout It From the Rooftops
by Awebeco Bento Productions
Summary: Riku always assumed he's attend his junior prom with his boyfriend, Sora. But when the pair is faced with hatred and prejudice, Riku's assumptions melt away...RikuXSora with AkuRoku, Zemyx, and various other pairings. Yaoi, of course.
1. One

**Shout It From the Rooftops**

**Author's Note:** This story was written by me, Peachy. Ohmygosh, I'M NOT DEAD?! NOPE! I'm back after a loooong hiatus from fanfiction (omfgdecember?!) and I've brought with me the first installment in my latest fic, a Soriku this time! Of course there'll be plenty of side-pairing love, and you never know who could turn up in later chapters! Once again, I'm sorry for the long absence, but I hope this will make up for it! Comments are, as always, greatly appreciated! :D

--

Chapter 1 - Beach Daze

--

The late May sunshine beat down on the heads of the high school juniors as they filed out of the stuffy brick building, soaking in the rays and the pleasant thrill of an early end to their classes.

One particular group of teenagers ambled down the winding cement path from their school to the outside world, zippering up schoolbags and exchanging carefree smiles that hinted at the fast approaching summer months.

"Oh my God, I love being a Junior. Early dismissal in this weather?! Hello, beach!" Demyx exclaimed as he bounced along beside his friends, heading toward their parked cars.

"Totally. I mean, we did have to take those killer exams, but it's kinda worth the free beach days," Kairi said as she swung her keychain around her fingers, the small paopu charm jingling as it moved. Naminé smiled and nodded in agreement, brushing a strand of blonde hair behind her ear and finding a pencil she left there. She embarrassedly stuffed it into her bag next to her sketchbook and turned to poke Sora in his side.

"Huh? What are we talking about?" the brunette said with a goofy grin as he turned to face the girls.

"We're talking about going to the beach, dummy. You'd know that if you left poor Riku alone for two seconds," Kairi teased as she looked up at the silver-haired boy walking beside Sora. Riku turned his head and the two friends shared a look between them, their love of teasing Sora long-standing and far from gone. Sora, for his part, sprouted an impressive blush and crossed his arms over his chest indignantly.

"I'm not bothering him!" he insisted with a pout.

But suddenly his blue eyes widened and he whipped his head around to face the boy in question.

"Am I?" He asked, his voice growing softer as guilt began to cross his features.

Riku chuckled quietly and rubbed the top of the brunette's head with his hand.

"Of course not. I always love listening to you, Sora," the taller boy said as he leaned down to kiss Sora's cheek. The brunette's face burned a deep red, but he couldn't suppress the smile that spread on his lips at the contact.

"-except when you're bothering me." Riku added, breaking into laughter as Sora sputtered in shock and barraged him with play punches while the girls laughed appreciatively beside the pair.

The five teens crossed the parking lot to their cars, tossing their schoolbags in their respective backseats. Suddenly they were joined by two more teens, a short blonde and a tall lanky redhead, who had been standing a few feet away from the row of vehicles.

"About time you guys got out. What the hell were you doing anyway? We've been here for like five minutes." Roxas said as he took Sora's car keys from his hand to unlock the doors.

"Demyx had to call Zexion to see if he can go to the beach with us," Sora explained to his twin.

Axel eyed Roxas as he moved toward the car, and as soon as he bent over to toss his bag in the backseat, moved swiftly behind the blonde and smacked him square on the butt. The teens watched in amusement as the redhead was assaulted by an outraged Roxas, who kept his grip on his schoolbag and was now putting it to use as a blunt weapon.

"So what'd Zexion say? Did he call you back during his break?" Kairi asked the sitar player as the violence died down behind her.

"Yeah, and he said his test doesn't end 'till two thirty, and then he has to go home and get his swimsuit!" Demyx replied, pouting his lips in a perfect imitation of a five-year-old child.

"His test is two whole hours longer than ours?! Bummer! Those advanced kids are nuts," Kairi said with a disappointed frown.

"I _know_. I told Zexy to just do regular honors, but _no_, he has to be in the super-duper-extra-special-_college_-level advanced classes. Now I hardly ever see him during school!" Demyx said with a pout.

"It's okay Dem. Zexion can just meet us at the beach after his exam! And we'll buy plenty of ice cream so he'll have a reward after all that testing!" Sora piped up, giving his friend an encouraging smile. Demyx returned the smile and nodded in agreement as he piled into his car with Kairi and Naminé in tow.

"See you losers in the ocean!" Kairi yelled out the window with a wink as Demyx pulled away.

"C'mon, pervert," Roxas said to his redheaded boyfriend as he started up the engine. Axel purred at the annoyed blonde and slinked into the passenger seat, leaving Riku and Sora together in the backseat. Sora rested his head on Riku's shoulder, and the taller boy smiled, intertwining their hands that rested on the leather seat as Roxas pulled out of the lot to join their friends on the shore.

Once they arrived at the beach, the four boys trekked across the sand in search of Demyx and the girls. They were greeted by a very ecstatic Demyx, who had discovered a cache of sand crabs and was keeping close watch on them as he began construction on a sandcastle. Kairi and Naminé had bought enough sea salt ice cream to feed a small army, and the cold treats were nestled away in four coolers the store clerk very kindly lent them.

Axel snatched up one of the popsicles and waved it in front of Roxas's frowning mouth, who did not take kindly to the suggestive position the redhead was trying to put him in or the Cheshire grin plastered on said redhead's face as he moved in to wrap a hand around the blonde's lower back. With one swift move Roxas was walking away with the ice cream in hand as Axel trailed pathetically after him, rubbing his freshly smacked jaw.

Sora laughed as he stripped off his t-shirt and set down his towel beside the coolers. He stole a peek at Riku out of the corner of his eye as the taller boy undressed, trying not to give himself away with his flushed cheeks. Seeing that Kairi and Naminé were busy swimming and Demyx was preoccupied with his sandcastle, he deemed it safe to check out the other boy more fully.

He watched as Riku's well-defined chest and abdomen stretched and flexed as the teen stripped himself of his t-shirt, his silver bangs falling in his eyes as his pale, muscular arms lowered the piece of clothing to the ground. Sora quickly darted his eyes away, pretending to see something interesting in the distance as he felt Riku glance in his direction.

Riku smirked to himself, seeing the blush on Sora's face and the faraway look in his eyes, resisting the urge to kiss the boy senseless. They had been a couple for nearly half a year now, after a lifetime of friendship, several months of awkward encounters, two whole days of kissing, four months of official dating and one and a half months of film-worthy sexcapades. Although Sora was decidedly past his awkward stage with Riku as his boyfriend, the brunette was still prone to shyness when they were around their friends, so Riku respected his feelings and toned down the affection when they were out. At this moment though, the silver-haired boy was finding it quite difficult not to jump Sora's bones as he stood there flushed and tanned and shirtless in the afternoon sun.

Riku cleared his throat as if to chase his thoughts away and fixed his companion with a small smile.

"They're in some mood today, huh," he said, nodding in the direction Axel and Roxas had wandered off to.

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah. I don't know what's up with them." Sora replied hurriedly, Riku's voice having snapped him back to reality.

Suddenly, Riku moved in close and caught Sora by the wrist with one hand, pressing the other to the brunette's forehead.

"You okay, Sora? You look a little lightheaded. Want some water or anything?" Riku asked the boy, his brow furrowed in concern. Sora shivered as he gazed up at the taller of the two, their faces so close he could feel Riku's breath ghost along his skin.

"I-I'm fine. I just…got the urge to kiss you all of a sudden," Sora murmured, his cheeks a bright embarrassed red at his sudden spurt of honesty.

Riku chuckled quietly and moved his mouth inches from Sora's own.

"Well that's funny, because I was just thinking the same thing…"

The last thing Riku saw was the haze of Sora's azure eyes before he pressed their mouths together in a soft kiss that made Sora's breath hitch. The brunette rested his hands on Riku's bare chest, the sensation of the warm skin beneath his hands pulling a moan from the boy's lips which sounded like music to Riku's ears. He wrapped his arms around the smaller boy's waist, pulling them even closer together as he skillfully swept his tongue along Sora's bottom lip, which parted in a gasp that was swallowed by the deepened kiss.

Just as Sora was about to lose himself in the moment completely, he heard the mortifying sound of whistling coming from the shoreline.

"Oh baby! Get 'em Sora!" Demyx shouted with laughter in his voice as Kairi and Naminé cheered and waved behind him.

"Get a room you two!" Kairi added as she pulled a face at the boys who now stood awkwardly beside each other on the sand.

"Perverts!" Sora yelled at his grinning friends, blushing all the way up to his ears in embarrassment.

"That's one of many words to describe them," a voice said from behind the boys.

"ZEXY!" Demyx all but squealed as he abandoned his sand castle to greet his best friend.

"Hey Zexion! How was your exa—" Sora's question died on his lips as he watched Zexion get enveloped in a Demyx-hug, knowing that he was powerless to save the bookworm from the clutches of his hyper best friend.

"The exam went well, thank you. Of course, I was going to get started on reviewing for my British literature final, but someone insisted I accompany them to the beach…" Zexion said as he narrowed his eyes as looked to the boy beside him. Unperturbed, Demyx opened one of the coolers and produced a bar of sea salt ice cream.

"_Zeeexy_, look what I got for you…" the sitar player said in singsong, holding it out for his little friend to see.

Zexion looked from his friend to the ice cream before silently accepting it and sitting down on one of the outspread towels. Demyx happily sat down beside the other boy and launched into his story of discovering the sand crabs as Zexion munched his ice cream without a word.

"Sometimes I wonder why they're best friends." Riku said as he and Sora watched the interaction.

"Zexion will never admit it, but he secretly likes all the silly things Demyx makes him do. Plus, he really likes sea salt ice cream. Like, a _lot_." Sora replied.

"Anyway, wanna go swim? It's pretty hot out," the brunette said as he caught his boyfriend's eye.

Riku smirked and pretended to ponder the request before saying "Race ya" and taking off toward the water at full speed.

"What? No fair! Riku!" Sora shouted, but broke into a run after the silver-haired boy.

Riku greeted Sora with a splash of cold ocean water in his face as the brunette stood panting at the shoreline.

"Come on Sora, weren't you the one that wanted to swim?" Riku said with a smirk as he waded deeper until the water reached his chest, beckoning Sora to join him.

"Oh, you…!" Sora said as he swam over to where Riku stood in the choppy waves.

He turned his back to the taller boy and crossed his arms over his chest, pretending to pout. Riku approached him to apologize, but as soon as he reached for the boy Sora spun around and dunked him under the water.

Riku came up to the surface spluttering incoherently. Sora doubled over in laughter at the expression on the taller boy's face, extremely satisfied that he was finally able to catch him off-guard.

"I'm sorry, what did you say? You took a spill there, Riku," Sora choked out between hiccups of laughter. Riku pounced on the brunette, capturing him in a headlock in retaliation.

"Who's the strongest, Sora?" Riku asked as he held the struggling boy without much difficulty.

"Dammit, Riku! Lemme go!" Sora whined. Riku shook his head and chuckled and he held him mercilessly. Sora, in a dirty tactic, pressed his lips to the arm that held him softly. Riku automatically loosened his grip and Sora took the opportunity to break free of his grasp, putting his hands on his hips in triumph as Riku pouted beside him.

"That was a cheap move, Sora," Riku said, unable to withhold the small affectionate smile that spread on his lips.

"Well, now I have a few more tricks to beat you with since we were kids," Sora said cheekily as he submerged himself under the waves, reemerging a moment later with a shake of his brown spikes.

After several hours of swimming, playing, and eating way too much ice cream, the afternoon came to an end. The sun began to set over the water in a blaze of oranges and reds, and the teens returned the coolers to their owner, rinsed off and redressed, and packed up their cars. Zexion settled into Demyx's passenger seat after catching his mulleted friend attempting to take the sand crabs home with him in his backpack, and the girls climbed into the backseat. Sora and Riku said their goodbyes as a sad Demyx turned on the engine and left to drop his friends off at their houses.

"Where did Axel and Roxas go? I haven't seen them in a while," Riku said as he closed the trunk to Sora's car.

"Who knows. I bet Axel's lying drowned somewhere while Roxas makes off with a cooler of ice cream. I'll go find them," Sora added as Riku laughed and started brushing the sand off of his clothes.

Sora took off down the beach in the direction his twin and Axel had run off to earlier. He saw no one in the water or on the sand.

"Roxas? Axel!" Sora called, frowning when he received no reply.

"What the hell? I'm not scouring this whole beach for those two. Where could they have gone?" he thought aloud as he trudged through the warm sand.

Suddenly he heard a noise in the distance. Looking over, he could make out sand dunes lined by brush.

Curious, Sora made his way over to the dunes, hearing more noises as he approached. He parted a section of brush with his hands and peeked through, immediately wishing that he hadn't.

From what he could see, his twin was straddling his redheaded lover, his head thrown back and his breath coming in pants as he rocked back and forth mindlessly. Axel, for his part, was holding the blonde steadfast by his hips and moaning his name along with an impressive stream of profanity.

Sora emitted something between a gasp and a shriek that caught the attention of the blonde as he snapped his head around to meet Sora's wide-eyed stare.

"HOLY SHIT, SORA?!" Roxas yelped as he threw himself off of a bewildered Axel.

"What?! Oh fuck, Sora!" Axel exclaimed as he sat up and realized why his lover was no longer loving him.

"S-SORRY!" Sora yelled before turning on his heels and bolting across the beach back to the car.

Riku watched with wide eyes as he saw Sora running full-speed to his car, screeching to a halt right in front of him and panting for breath.

"Sora?! What the hell happened?!" Riku demanded, alarmed by the brunette's bright red face and horror-struck eyes.

"I…sand dunes…and…found them…but they were…and the _moaning_, but I thought…and then…_saw_ me there…and…I ran away," the words tumbled out of Sora's mouth in between breaths as he shook his head and looked at Riku wild-eyed; it was all Riku could do not to burst into laughter.

"Oh, Sora, you…you mean you just…_cockblocked_ your brother?!" the silver-haired teen said, biting his bottom lip in an attempt to control the laughter bubbling in his throat.

But when Sora's eyes once again went wide as saucers and he clamped his hands over his bright red face, Riku could no longer hold in the peals of laughter that reverberated in the still evening air.

"I-it's not funny! Riku! It's really not! RIKU!" Sora whined, embarrassed beyond belief and annoyed at the amount of amusement his boyfriend was taking out of his plight.

"I'm-ha-I'm sorry, Sora. You're right, you're right. Only it is…a little funny," Riku said, wiping his eyes as the laughter died down, but a huge smile still plastered to his face.

"Ooh, you're so mean!" Sora stuck his tongue out at Riku, his eyes squeezed shut with the effort.

Before Riku could reply, two figures came into sight as they approached the parked car.

"Oh! Hey Axel, hey Roxas," Riku said, amused smirk set firmly on his face.

The pair walked up to the car slowly, Axel scratching the back of his head and looking mildly entertained while Roxas unceremoniously dumped their belongings into the trunk, face red and steadfastly refusing to look Sora in the eye.

The four boys piled into the car, Sora keeping his eyes fixed on the road while Roxas kept his eyes fixed on the seat in front of him, putting as much space between himself and Axel as possible in the small backseat. When they reached Axel's house, the formerly impassioned pair shuffled quickly out of the car.

"See ya, Riku. Sora…" Roxas trailed off as the twins looked at each other, the air seemingly palpable with the awkwardness of both boys' demeanors.

"Mom's not coming home until tomorrow night, she's still at that lupus conference. So…I'm staying here tonight. I'll see you," he muttered between clenched teeth.

Sora's "okaybye" was verbally without pause as he backed out of the driveway as quickly as possible, hands clenched to the wheel.

"So…since Roxas is staying at Axel's, want me to sleepover at your place?" Riku said, trying to get Sora's mind off of his twin and focused on himself.

"Yeah, sounds like a plan" Sora replied with a small smile as he pulled out of Axel's street, his demeanor growing considerably less awkward now that they were alone in the car.

Sora parked in his driveway and locked the car doors, racing Riku to the front door and declaring it a tie after some deliberation. Riku followed Sora upstairs and into the bedroom he shared with his twin, sitting down on the bottom bunk he knew was Sora's as the brunette dug through his drawers for pj's for the both of them.

"I think these are yours. See if they fit," Sora said as he tossed a pair of navy sweatpants to the taller boy on his bed. Riku caught them but made no move to put them on. Instead he watched as Sora lifted his t-shirt over his head, tossing it in his laundry bin as he moved to search for a pajama shirt in his dresser. Riku lifted his own shirt over his head, crossing the room so that he was right behind Sora.

Sora turned around and jumped slightly as the sight of half-naked Riku standing two feet from him, and he swallowed hard as Riku tossed his shirt into his laundry bin.

"Would you wash it for me, Sora?" he asked, his voice low and a smirk on his lips.

"Y-yeah, sure," Sora said, his face heating up as he felt Riku's eyes travel down his bare torso.

"Sora…" Riku said in a voice barely above a whisper. He moved forward and placed his hands on the brunette's hips, letting the sweatpants fall to the floor as he leaned down to kiss his lover.

Sora bit back a moan as he parted his lips to allow Riku's tongue, splaying his hands on the taller boy's pale, toned chest as Riku explored the cavern of his mouth.

Riku broke the kiss, putting his mouth to Sora's ear as he whispered;

"I don't think we need any clothes, do you?"

The suggestion combined with Riku's hot breath tickling his ear pulled a groan from Sora's throat, and it was all the encouragement Riku needed as he led Sora over to the bed by his hips.

Sora shivered in anticipation as Riku laid him on the mattress, resting his weight on his forearms as he kissed Sora's neck; lightly at first, but soon biting down hard enough to leave a mark which had Sora arching into his touch.

"Riku…" Sora sighed in pleasure as the taller boy kissed and nipped at his collarbone, threading his hands through the silver locks that beautifully reflected the rising moon shining through the bedroom window.

"Sora…you're so hard already." Riku said, and Sora could _feel_ the deviously amused smirk forming on the taller boy's lips as his leg brushed the evident bulge in Sora's swin trunks.

"Shut up, Riku," Sora said hurriedly, a blush spreading over his cheeks as his lover stopped his ministrations and met his gaze.

"Did it turn you on, Sora? Seeing two people in the throes of passion?" Riku purred teasingly as he hovered above the flustered brunette.

"N-no," Sora choked out, darting his eyes away as he felt his face heat up even more, a feat Riku hadn't thought possible.

Riku chuckled, and the air of deviousness behind it sent a shudder through Sora's body.

"Oh come on, Sora. It didn't get you hot and bothered? All the moaning, the panting, the…_thrusting_," with that, Riku ground his hips against Sora's, the friction sending shockwaves of pleasure through both bodies. Sora bit his lip and _moaned_, full-throated and loud, and Riku sent a mental thank-you to the hormones of his two friends before kissing a heated trail from Sora's neck down to his stomach.

He ran his fingers teasingly along the hemline of Sora's swim trunks before pulling them down past his knees, Sora kicking them off the rest of the way.

Suddenly, Sora sat up to that both boys were on their knees facing each other, and began kissing Riku's jaw and throat. Riku gritted his teeth as Sora's hands trailed along his chest and abdomen, groaning when he felt them dip below his swim trunks and pull them down his legs. Riku eagerly kicked them fully off and put his arms around Sora's waist, pulling them flush against each other and rocking his hips against Sora's own.

"Oh god, Riku!" Sora cried out as Riku slowly pushed him down on the bed, keeping the wonderful friction between them until he paused to reach for the lotion Sora kept on the nightstand.

"You ready love?" Riku whispered as he slicked up his fingers, planting a kiss on Sora's stomach.

"Mmm-hmm," Sora nodded, gasping as he felt Riku's finger inside him. To distract him from the discomfort Riku wrapped his other hand around Sora's erection, his strokes leaving Sora a moaning mess beneath him. Riku added another finger and not before long hit the brunette's prostate. Sora all but squealed as he bucked his hips against Riku's thrusting fingers.

Riku teased the boy's prostate a few more times before slicking up his own erection and pressing it to Sora's entrance. He waited for the okay before slowly pushing into him, holding himself in place so that Sora could adjust to him.

"R-Riku…I'm okay," Sora whispered, wrapping his arms around Riku's shoulders. Riku leaned down and pressed his mouth to Sora's in a tender kiss as he pulled out and pushed into Sora again, swallowing the brunette's moans as he kept his pace slow and gentle.

After several minutes Sora began rolling his hips in time with Riku's, groaning in frustration at the current pace.

"Riku, please…" Sora pleaded as he arched his back in need.

Riku happily complied with the brunette's request and started thrusting faster into him, a sheen of sweat breaking over Riku's back and Sora's chest and forehead.

"God, Sora…" Riku moaned as he resumed his work on the boy's neck, undoubtedly leaving bruises behind for morning.

"_Uhn_, Ri…Ri-_ku_…y-yes…" Sora panted as the pace quickened even further, the pleasure mounting as both boys sought their release.

Riku could feel Sora's legs begin to tremble and his moans took on a higher pitch, and he knew the boy was nearing orgasm.

Riku started pumping Sora's erection in time with his thrusts, groaning as he saw Sora throw his head back and cry out in ecstasy.

"Yes…that's it…come for me, Sora," Riku said, grazing the boy's prostate with each thrust.

With another few hard thrusts Sora was sent over the edge, screaming his lover's name as he rode out his high. The sight and sound of the brunette's orgasm was enough to pull Riku to his own climax, shuddering above Sora as he called out the boy's name.

He collapsed, sweaty and spent, into Sora's waiting embrace, the two boys wrapped up in each other as the sounds of their heavy breathing filled the moonlit bedroom.

"I love you, Sora…I love you so much," Riku whispered as he kissed a lazy trail from Sora's jaw to his lips. Sora sighed contentedly into the kiss and gave Riku a warm smile when they parted.

"I love you too. Always," he replied, brushing damp silver bangs from Riku's forehead and placing a tender kiss there.

Reluctantly, Riku untangled himself from Sora and took a short trip to the bathroom, returning with a damp towel to clean up their mess.

Sora burrowed under the covers and took Riku with him, cuddling up against the taller boy's chest and putting an arm over his pale stomach. The two fell asleep like that, Riku's last conscious thought about what he could get Sora to do with him behind the sand dunes.

--

**Author's Note**: I hope you all enjoyed Chapter One! I'm starting work on the next chapter tonight, and I'm aiming to have it up within a week or less. Again, if you enjoyed it drop me a comment! It really is a big encouragement C:


	2. Two

**Shout It From the Rooftops**

**Author's Note:** Chapter twooooo xD yay it's finally done!! I took extra shifts at work this week and was so super busy I only had time to finish it tonight...so sorry for the wait! D: I hope it's an enjoyable chapter, I liked it better than the first actually...now that I know how I want it to pan out it's starting to feel more together for me. It is my first Soriku that's more than like, a page xD so I'm still getting comfortable with their voices as oppsed to Axel and Roxas's which I have much more experience with. Anyway, plz don't kill me for the supr cerealness of this chap...I'M SORRY D: it had to be done. My poor little redhead... oAo

Hope you enjoy it! Comments are, as always, greatly appreciated! :D

--

Chapter 2 - How You Really Feel

--

"Sora! We're gonna be late! Hurry up, you slowpoke," Riku called to his brunette lover from where he stood on the boy's front porch.

"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Sora yelled as he stampeded down the staircase and out the door, meeting Riku's lips in a brief kiss before dashing to his car and heading for their school.

"Ugh, I can't believe we're so late!" Sora lamented as he tried not to go too far over the speed limit.

"Well, we were tired from last night's…activities," Riku replied with a trademark smirk as he watched Sora's face heat up.

"Thank god Mom wasn't home. You would've had to keep your hands to yourself and sleep on the air mattress," Sora said with a laugh, remembering countless times the boys had done just that throughout their childhood.

"That would've been no fun at all. And Roxas would be getting so much action in the meantime…"

Sora took a hand off the wheel to punch Riku in the shoulder before resuming his usual safe driving. Riku's smirk remained in place, however, right up until Sora parked his car in the student lot and the boys made a mad dash for the entrance.

It wasn't until they ran inside and were immediately redirected to the front office that they realized how late they actually were. They had missed homeroom and nearly all of first period, and Saïx, the Dean of Students, looked none too pleased as he handed the boys their late slips.

"One more tardy and it's a detention for you, hedgehog," the ornery man informed a wide-eyed Sora. Riku guided the boy out of the office with a hand around his waist before the rude disciplinarian could make any further comments to Sora.

"Saïx is such an asshole." Riku declared to the nearly empty hallway. Sora nodded nonchalantly, but Riku noticed the smaller boy reach up and pull on one of his brown spikes briefly before they continued walking.

The two boys decided it was best to just skip first period altogether and wait for the next class to come around, so the pair strolled down the main hallway, heading toward the library where they knew they wouldn't get caught until the next bell rang.

Suddenly they were no longer alone as four boys walked through the back doors of the school, joining the pair in the hallway. Riku narrowed his eyes as he saw it was Seifer leading the pack of junior boys, the grin on his face dripping with pure malice.

Riku said nothing, looking straight ahead of him as he and Sora continued to make their way down the hall.

"Hey _fags_,"Seifer hissed as he passed the boys in the opposite direction, his posse leering at Riku and Sora as they followed their leader.

It was at that moment that Riku realized his arm was still around Sora's waist. The silver-haired boy froze, and his eyes narrowed dangerously as he turned his head around to face Seifer.

"You wanna say that again, _asshole_?" he growled, his hands clenching into fists and dropping from Sora's side.

The two boys began to walk toward each other, fists ready, but Riku was stopped by Sora's hand grabbing his arm.

"Riku, stop! Don't do this," Sora pleaded, catching and holding his boyfriend's gaze. Riku looked down at Sora, his body still tense and his eyes showing his inner conflict.

"Come on, let's go." Sora said, tugging at his arm gently.

Riku sighed and flipped Seifer off before letting himself be led to the library by a relieved Sora, wrapping his arm around Sora's waist once again and keeping it there.

--

"He said _what_ to you?!" Roxas exclaimed in the middle of the lunch line.

Sora blushed as some students around them turned to look at the enraged blonde shouting in the crowded cafeteria. He put a hand on his twin's shoulder and put a finger to his own lips.

"Keep it down, Roxas! The whole school doesn't need to know about it," the brunette said, cheeks red with embarrassment.

"That fucking asshole! I'm gonna kill him!" Roxas continued, no longer shouting but every bit as angry.

"Calm down, it's not that big a deal. It's only Seifer," Sora said unconvincingly as they moved forward in line.

The twins picked up chocolate milks simultaneously and rolled their eyes when some girls behind them giggled. Roxas purposefully grabbed his food before his brother could reach and both boys made a beeline for their usual table.

Kairi, Naminé, Demyx and Zexion were already sitting down with their lunches, and the twins greeted everyone before Sora slid down next to Riku and Roxas sat down opposite the boys.

"Hey sweetheart," Riku whispered into Sora's ear before kissing his cheek. Riku rarely used pet names, and Sora knew he was trying to cheer him up after the morning's incident. Sora gave him what he hoped was a reassuring smile before unwrapping his food.

He looked up from his lunch to see Axel approaching the table. The lanky redhead grinned and winked at the brunette, putting a finger to his lips as he crept up behind an oblivious Roxas. Sora watched with a flustered gaze as Axel finally wrapped his arms around the blonde's waist, tilting his head to put his lips to the boy's neck.

Roxas squeaked in surprise, and Axel laughed triumphantly as he settled down in the beat beside the blonde.

"Surprised?" Axel said with a toothy grin.

Roxas rolled his eyes and pulled the redhead down for a kiss.

"Whoa boys, save it for the bedroom!" Demyx said as Zexion scoffed from behind his composition book.

"Or the sand dunes!" Kairi chimed in, and the two shot identical mischievous grins at the couple.

"H-how do you know about that?" Roxas said, face heating up.

"Oh, Riku told me about it last period." Kairi replied.

"Axel told me in homeroom!" Demyx said before munching on a Dunkaroo.

Axel threw his hands up in defense as Roxas fixed him with an annoyed look.

"Hey, he asked where we were! I can't lie about getting me some Roxas," he said as Roxas blushed harder.

"What had you two so riled up yesterday? And Roxas, weren't you smacking the crap out of Axel all day? And then the sudden fit of passion? What's with that?" Kairi inquired before taking a sip of strawberry milk.

"Axel led Roxas on," Naminé's small voice cut through the noise of the cafeteria as Kairi looked at her best friend with wide eyes.

"What?!" she exclaimed, looking from Axel to Roxas until Roxas sighed.

"Axel was being an ass yesterday about junior prom." He said simply, crewing on a French fry.

"He told Roxas he didn't want to go," Demyx added.

"I was only joking! But I did say it really seriously. And Rox got upset," Axel said with a guilty look.

"And then he asked me properly…when we were at the beach," Roxas finished.

"Ohhh, so _that's_ why you two were all…" Kairi trailed off as Roxas's blush returned.

"Yeah. And that's why we were kind of fighting," the blonde said, taking a sip of Axel's tea.

Kairi squawked at Axel and playfully chided him for his behavior as Naminé and Zexion attempted to finish a crossword puzzle they had started in English.

"Oh gosh, Junior Prom! I almost forgot it's at the end of the month." Demyx said.

"Yeah, that's right. It is coming up," Riku replied with wide eyes, mentally scolding himself for forgetting as well.

Riku swallowed hard before glancing at his lover beside him. To his dismay, Sora seemed to fold in on himself, avoiding his eyes and keeping his gaze fixed on his tray of food.

"Yeah, it is coming up." the brunette mumbled without a trace of enthusiasm. Riku's shoulders slumped and his expression slipped back into one of disinterest.

Kairi caught the exchange from her seat beside the two boys, pursing her lips in concern before eventually returning to her plate of sushi.

The bell rang several minutes later, the friends giving quick goodbyes before rushing off to their afternoon classes. Riku walked Sora to his math class as he usually did. He repeatedly glanced down at his boyfriend, trying and failing in getting his voice to function properly.

They paused outside the classroom door, Riku feeling unnaturally awkward and at a loss for words.

"So…you're staying after to make up a lab, right?" Riku mumbled, his hands shoved into his pant pockets.

Sora nodded, the frown that formed on his mouth during lunch still in place as he made no move to touch the taller boy.

"Uh…so I'll get a ride home from Roxas. You coming over for dinner?" Riku asked hopefully, gazing down at the head of brown spikes.

"Um, actually...Vexen gave us a ton of chem homework so…I think I'm just gonna stay home," Sora said, refusing to look the silver-haired boy in the eyes.

"O-oh. Okay, well…see you tomorrow then, I guess," Riku finished lamely. He leaned forward to kiss the brunette goodbye but Sora turned his head away quickly, fumbling for the doorknob.

"I gotta go, I'm late, bye," he blurted out as he ran into the classroom, leaving Riku alone and dejected in the hallway.

Riku turned on his heel and stalked down the hallway, pulling on his hair in exasperation. Before entering his own classroom, he pulled out his cell phone and sent a text message to Kairi:

_Meet me at the beach at 8. I need to talk to you._

--

The ocean waves crashed gently on the shoreline, the rising moon reflecting off the dark water. A cool breeze blew through palm tree leaves and the hair of two teenagers as they sat on an old wooden dock, speaking softly as if not to disturb the scenery before them.

"Is this about what happened at lunch today with Sora?" Kairi asked as she brushed a strand of auburn hair from her face.

Riku nodded, eyes narrowed in hurt and frustration.

"And then when I dropped him off at his class he pulled away from me! He wouldn't _look_ at me, let alone kiss me! And he could not have looked less interested in prom. I don't know, it's like when we first started going out and he was too shy to touch me in public, except now it's like…he's embarrassed to be seen with me or something," he replied, hating the ache forming in his chest.

Kairi put a hand on his forearm comfortingly.

"Riku, that's not it. Didn't Seifer bother you two earlier today?" she inquired.

"Well, yeah. But it's just Seifer," the silver-haired boy mirrored Sora's sentiment.

But Kairi shook her head and held Riku's gaze.

"Yes, it _is_ Seifer. Riku, do you remember the last time Seifer bothered one of us?" Kairi said, her voice soft and her eyes solemn.

Riku's own eyes widened in sudden recognition as he realized what Kairi was leading him to remember.

"_Get up, fag," Seifer spat as the afternoon sun beat down on the blacktop. _

_Axel pulled himself to his feet slowly, blood dripping from his swollen mouth. He threw an ill-fated punch, Seifer easily dodging the blow as he delivered a swift kick to Axel's ribs. The three boys that had jumped him outside the school watched him fall, encircling the redhead and their leader as they laughed and cheered Seifer on._

_Axel clutched his ribs, turning onto his side as Seifer walked up beside him._

"_What's wrong, fag? Too weak to fight a real man?" he said, eyes narrowed in malice._

_Axel laughed, spitting blood onto the hot pavement. _

"_I'm too much man for you to handle, kid," Axel rasped with a crooked grin._

_Seifer sneered in disgust and kicked Axel once more in the head before taking off, posse in tow. _

_Five minutes later, Roxas found his lover half-conscious in a pool of blood behind the school. He dialed 911 before kneeling beside his beloved redhead, stripping off his sweatshirt and pressing it to the wound on Axel's head desperately. A teacher heard his screaming from inside the building, but not until he ran outside did he realize what had happened at his high school. _

"Riku, he's scared. He wants to be with you, but he doesn't want what happened to Axel happening to you." she said, tightening her grip on his forearm.

"But Seifer knows what's coming to him if he ever tries pulling that shit again. Hell, I would've kicked his ass just for that comment this morning if Sora hadn't…" Riku's argument died in his throat as all the pieces fell into place in his mind.

Kairi stood, pulling Riku up with her as they stared out over the dock. She turned back to him after a few moments, her eyes showing a deep, familial affection for the boys that had been there nearly since birth.

"Ask him." She said firmly, holding Riku's gaze.

"What? Are you crazy? He's going to say no!" he protested, staring at her in confusion.

"You're the strongest one on the island, right? You don't need protection from anybody, right?" Riku flushed as heard Kairi repeat his own often-said words back to him.

"Well, yeah, but…"

"Then show him it's true. You need to take Sora to prom, and you need to be the cutest couple the school has ever seen! You need to make him understand that it's just as okay to love each other in the middle of a school dance then it is to love each other in the dark of your room," Kairi concluded, taking her hand off his arm and placing it on her hip.

"You got me?" She said with a small smile.

Riku enveloped her in a smothering hug, Kairi squealing and protesting as he squeezed her like a teddy bear.

"Thanks, Kairi. What would I do without your genius insight?" he said as he released her from his grasp.

"Probably end up in a gutter somewhere. Now go home and start planning." She said as he waved him away.

"Planning for what?" he said with a confused stare.

"Popping the big question, duh! It has to be romantic, and it has to be something he's guaranteed to never forget." She said with a wink and a smile.

Riku gulped as his task hung over his head like impending doom.

"Kairi, I think it might be your insight that leads me to an early death in a gutter somewhere."

--


	3. Three

**Shout It From the Rooftops**

**Author's Note:** Yay, chapter three 8D I hope this wasn't too long of a gap between updates D: I'm trying to work on it between my crazy schedule! I move back to school in just two short weeks and I've only just started making a list of stuff I need... Dx At least I have all my bed stuff, storage and the like from last year! It's cute seeing all the freshmen picking out comforters and laundry baskets with their moms xD ...But anyway, yes! Chapter three! I love this chapter the most so far :D I just got such a fondness for Riku after writing his flashback/bedroom scene. I really haven't written more than five lines for him in any fic until this one, so it's been nice to get to know him in this way xD And Sora is just always adorable. Always. Especially kid!Sora all wide-eyed and naive at the beach with his bff...teehee I love flashback sequences 8D

Hope you enjoy it! Comments are, as always, greatly appreciated! :D

--

Chapter 3 - Our First Promise

--

A light summer rain covered the neatly trimmed suburban lawns with a fine sheen of dew as the sun began to set over the sleepy island town. Sora entered his house and locked the door behind him. Upon hearing silence in the house, he poked his head into the living room and the kitchen before kicking his sneakers off and heading up the stairs.

He opened his bedroom door to see Roxas already in his bunk, sprawled out on his stomach as he scribbled down a few final equations, glancing from his graphing paper to his calculator to his notebook and back again. After a few moments he noticed the presence of his brother and nodded in greeting while penning his answers in record speed.

Sora walked over to his dresser, shrugging off his book bag as he rummaged for pajamas in the unorganized drawers. After finding a clean t-shirt and shorts he made his way over to the beds, climbing the small ladder to his bunk and flopping down on his stomach, mirroring his twin.

"So, how was lab makeup? Was Vexen even creepier than usual?" Roxas asked as he slid his calculator shut and stuffed his notebook full of his loose papers, tossing both on the carpet beside his bed with a satisfied grin.

"Not really, just regular creepy I guess," Sora replied absently as he flipped onto his back, hands folded behind his head.

"Is mom home yet?" the brunette continued after coming back to the present.

"Nah, she's on the highway though, shouldn't be long. Did you eat anything? You're home kinda late, even for lab," Roxas said as he sat cross-legged on his mattress.

"Yeah, I got something on the way back." Sora mumbled, blue eyes distractedly gazing at the window on the far right wall.

Roxas arched a brow, glancing up at the bottom of his twin's bed.

"Sora? Are you okay? You sound bothered." He questioned, trusting his uncanny ability to sense when the brunette was troubled.

"I'm fine Roxas," Sora said a little too quickly, and the blonde knew his senses were right.

He slowly, deliberately patted the empty bed space beside him, not needing to say a word. After a moment's pause he heard Sora climb down the ladder, sitting cross-legged beside his twin with a defeated sigh.

"So what's wrong?" Roxas asked, trying to catch the brunette's gaze. Sora looked down at his folded hands in his lap, shaking his head slightly.

"It's nothing," he said, reluctant to dive into the subject.

"Is it Riku?" Roxas questioned again, knowing his guess was correct by the way his brother's eyes widened before he seemed to close in on himself.

After a moment of silence, Sora gave a small nod.

"Okay, so what's up? Is it about this morning? 'Cause I would've cursed that asshole Seifer out too," Roxas said, hissing his classmate's name before looking at his twin inquiringly.

"No, it's not about that…it's about what happened at lunch—well, what we talked about at lunch…junior prom." Sora finally admitted.

"What about junior prom?" Roxas said with surprise, brows furrowed in confusion.

"It's just that…I think he's going to ask me and I…I can't do it," Sora replied, squeezing his eyes shut and hanging his head to avoid his brother's eyes.

"Sora, what do you mean? You don't want to go to prom with Riku?" Roxas exclaimed, bewildered at his brother's words.

"No, I _want_ to, but I just can't because…I can't have anything happen to him," Sora concluded in a voice just above a whisper, seeming to stare straight through his hands.

Roxas's eyes widened even further as the truth sunk in. He shook his head, frowning in agitation.

"Sora, don't be stupid. You love him, don't you?" he said.

"Of course I do! I love him more than anything in the world!" Sora said, locking eyes with his twin for the first time that evening as he spoke with conviction.

"I love him and…I want to protect him." He finished, voice getting softer with each word.

The two boys sat in silence for several moments, the heaviness of Sora's words hanging nearly palpable in the air. Finally Roxas sighed, shifting to that the two sat face-to-face on the bed.

"Sora, listen to me. When Axel got hurt, I was terrified. I was furious, and sad, and confused, but most of all I was terrified. I was so scared for him that I felt like locking the both of us away in a case somewhere, or curling up into a cocoon and sleeping there forever." Roxas confessed, meeting his twin's startled gaze with a stoic one.

"But after he got better, I had two choices. I could run and hide, and let those homophobic motherfuckers win, or I could be prouder than ever and shove it back in their faces. That's why even if we're having an argument, Axel and I always hold hands in the hallways, and that's why when the dummy finally asked me to prom I said yes without a second thought. Because I love him, and want to protect him from any sort of harm, but I understand that hiding won't solve anything."

Roxas's eyes locked with his brother's as he said the last sentence firmly, making his advice clear.

"But Roxas…I'm really scared, and I can't make the fear of losing him go away." Sora whispered, swallowing the lump forming in his throat.

Roxas put a hand over his brother's, the gesture enough to keep the brunette from crying.

"It's not supposed to go away completely. You're always going to worry about the person you love. The trick is not to let it stop you from living your life the way you want to. Listen, Riku has always been here with you, since before either of us can remember. When dad got lupus, he was right there at your side, and I know how much he loves you. I think you need to show everyone in our school what real love looks like." He said, squeezing his twin's hand briefly for reassurance.

Sora stared wide-eyed at his brother before enveloping him in a tight embrace.

"Thanks, Roxas," he mumbled into the blonde's shoulder.

Roxas smiled and rubbed Sora's hair affectionately before pulling away.

"Anytime. Now be serious, did you really eat dinner today?" he asked skeptically.

"No. I was too worried to eat," Sora said with a self-conscious chuckle.

"I thought so. C'mon, let's go make something for us and mom for when she gets home." Roxas said as he hopped off the bed, extending his hand to his brother.

"Yeah," Sora agreed with a smile as he caught the blonde's hand.

--

"Okay, Riku. Come on. You can do this. It's Sora, and you know Sora better than you know anyone. Just take him somewhere he likes, and ask him in a way he'll like, and everything will be golden."

Riku took a deep breath as he stared himself down in his bedroom mirror.

"Right."

He raked his fingers through his mass of silver hair and hung his head with a defeated sigh. 2:00 a.m. glared at him from the alarm clock beside his bed, and Riku's bleary aquamarine eyes narrowed at the sight.

With the millionth sigh that night Riku lowered his tired body into his waiting mattress, pulling up the covers to his chin and huffing as he laid on his side, arm tucked behind his head.

After several moments he let out yet another sigh as he flipped onto his back, folding his hands behind his head. Staring up at the dark ceiling, Riku recalled the distant way Sora had acted earlier, and he moved to reach for the phone before catching 2:14 a.m. in blazing red digital numbers out of the corner of his eye.

A muffled "Fuck!" sounded throughout the room before Riku settled onto his stomach, face buried in his pillow.

He closed his eyes and saw a young boy of eight sitting high above the shore in an old tree, his bare feet dangling in the evening air. The autumn breezes were cold and the sun was fast sinking below the horizon, but the changing of seasons did not keep the boy from his favorite spot. The boy's brown hair blew gently in the air, his large oceanic eyes gazing out into the distance.

The small boy turned his head to catch the curious stare of his best friend. His face showed thoughtfulness, and worry, and the boy beside him wanted nothing more than to ease the brunette's fears.

Not knowing what to do or say, the taller boy sat quietly, waiting patiently for his friend to share his thoughts.

"_Riku," the brunette said over the crash of waves,_

"_So many people leave here. They move away, sometimes so far away that I never ever see them again!" _

_He paused, blue eyes wide and solemn as he held the gaze of the taller boy._

"_Do you think…I mean, you're not gonna leave, are you? Will we be together forever?" _

_He bit his lip, worry etched on his childish features. Riku's eyes went round as he took in his best friend's words. _

_His mouth opened to say something, but he closed it again upon seeing a small yellow fruit hanging on a branch beside the brunette's head._

_Carefully, he reached over and plucked the fruit, pulling it in half before cupping it in his palms._

_The brunette watched as Riku looked down at the fruit in his hands before extending it to his friend, aquamarine eyes flicking to the smaller boy's blue as the weight of the warm fruit pressed on his skin gave him a strange sense of reassurance. _

"_Sora, this is a paopu fruit. If two people share it, their destinies will be linked forever. It means no matter how far one of us goes, we'll always be together. I promise." He said with a smile._

_Sora's face lit up with a smile as he took half the paopu from Riku's hands. Both boys put the sweet flesh to their mouths, sharing a look before biting into their halves, the sweetness melting into something bitter, sour, and salty before tasting sweet once more, sliding down their throats with a tingling warmth that provided more comfort than their words could. _

Riku smiled as he remembered how tightly Sora had hugged him that night, and how he had squeezed his eyes shut, praying the brunette's faith would never be broken, even after more friends left over the years, his father eventually succumbing to his illness and leaving him too.

He thought about all the years he and Sora had been with each other, not able to pinpoint the moment he fell in love but knowing the fall was a continuous and never-ending one. As he drifted off to sleep, Riku heard the crashing of ocean waves, and his tongue tingled with the faint sweetness of that first promise.

--


	4. Four

**Shout It From the Rooftops**

**Author's Note:** YAY chapter four! I was so lazy about it but I finally got around to typing it up...some of it was typed up at work, mind you! Offices are So not the place for these things to occur... xD Lots of fluff and romance in this chap! So enjoy it! ;P I have grown so so so fond of Riku, and Sora really surprised me toward the end there, what with his...CREATIVE idea. (You'll see...hehe ;D)

Comments are, as always, greatly appreciated! :D

--

Chapter 4 - The Big Question

--

"Sora, dude, I have _never_ seen you this time of day without Riku. What's up with you two?" Demyx asked the brunette as the two made their way from the parking lot to the front doors of the school.

Sora took a deep breath, taking his time choosing his words because he knew Demyx would relay his words to Zexion, and Axel, and Kairi, and Naminé, and whoever else was willing to listen.

"Nothing's up, Dem. We just didn't hang out last night." He said, waving to Hayner, Pence, and Olette before continuing down the main hallway.

Demyx cocked his head, eyebrows raised in skepticism.

"Oh _really_? Then what's going on with junior prom? Are you two going together or what?" he demanded, shouldering his instrument case and carrying his marine science books in his arms.

"We haven't talked about it yet, so we'll see. Well, bye Demyx!" Sora said, ducking into his homeroom and ignoring the indignant squawks of his mulleted friend.

Sora couldn't focus on a single class, thoughts so preoccupied with Riku that he forgot to even bring a few textbooks with him. After what seemed like days the lunch bell rang, and he darted to his locker, grabbing his afternoon books before rushing to the cafeteria. He stopped in the middle of the room, eyes searching for his boyfriend. He caught Kairi's gaze from her seat and she waved him over, smiling. Sora crossed the room, sitting down across from the redheaded girl.

"Hey Kairi. Have you seen Riku?" He asked before Kairi could speak. She laughed, rolling her eyes with pretend annoyance.

"Jeez Sora, I don't even get small talk from you? Just Riku, Riku, Riku?" she said, sticking her tongue out at her best friend.

Sora rubbed the back of his head, a small guilty smile forming on his lips.

"Sorry, Kairi. It's just that I acted like a real jerk yesterday with him and I need to apolo—"

"I understand. I just like teasing you!" She said with a wink.

Her expression turned more serious as she said, "He hasn't come by. Did you check his locker? It's still early, he might be there." She offered.

"I didn't check. I didn't see him all morning and I don't even know if he's here today, and I feel so awkward texting him before I've talked to him in per—"

"Oh! Looks like he is here today," Kairi interrupted Sora's train of thought as she pointed to the far corner of the cafeteria.

Sora whipped his head around to see Riku walking in, his silhouette enough to make Sora's heart skip a beat.

Kairi leaned over the lunch table, murmuring in Sora's ear.

"Go get 'em, tiger," she said, and squeezed his shoulder briefly before sitting back down.

Sora swallowed hard before standing up from the table, heart thundering in his chest ass he approached the silver-haired boy.

Riku's breath caught in his throat as he saw his lover standing just feet from him, and the words he planned to say died in his throat.

The pair stood in awkward silence, both full of things to say but suddenly unable to speak. Finally, Sora stepped in closer to the taller boy, his voice soft as he said;

"Hey. Can we…talk? Outside?"

"Yeah, of course," Riku replied, trying to quell his sudden nerves that he couldn't seem to shake off.

The two boys left the cafeteria, walking through the back doors to the small green area outside where students were permitted to sit during their lunch breaks. Kairi watched them go, smiling as Naminé joined her at the table.

"Where are they going off to?" the blonde girl said as she followed Kairi's gaze to their departing friends.

"Hopefully they're about to have a romantic interlude in the middle of the green." She replied with a wink.

"Can we watch?!" Demyx exclaimed with glee as he slid into the seat across from the girls, Zexion rolling his eyes as he sat down beside him while the girls giggled at the prospect.

Outside, Riku found an empty bench and sat down. Sora sat down beside him, body turned so that they were facing each other. He took hold of Riku's hand and the silver-haired boy's breath hitched.

"Listen, about yesterday…I'm sorry," Sora said, giving the boy's hand a small squeeze.

"I acted like a jerk. I shouldn't have blown you off even if I was bothered."

"It's alright Sora, I just want to know what's bothering you. Is it something I did? I mean, you were acting weird after we ran into Seifer, and then when I tried to kiss you…"

Riku looked questioningly into the brunette's eyes. Sora saw a hurt there that the taller boy was trying to conceal, and it made his heart ache with guilt.

He shook his head, lacing his free fingers with Riku's, holding both his hands tight as if anchoring him to shore.

"It's nothing you did Riku, it's just that…"

He took a deep breath, and sighed before continuing.

"It's just that…I thought if I put some distance between us, we'd be less likely to…attract some unwanted attention," he said, averting his eyes briefly.

"Seifer. Homophobes." Riku cut in, eyes solemn.

"Yeah. I thought I was doing the right thing, you know? Protecting us, and you…" Sora blushed, his own words sounding unbelievable to him.

"I know it sounds stupid, but I thought it would work. All it ended up doing is hurting the both of us though…so I'm sorry." Sora finished, eyes held by his boyfriend's gaze.

"Oh, Sora," Riku said with a small smile, and pulled the brunette into a tight embrace. Sora's blush deepened and he made a noise of surprise, but didn't pull away, resting his head against the taller boy's chest and breathing in the scent of him.

Riku released the smaller boy from his grasp, only to smile wider at him.

"Always playing the hero, aren't you." he said, tousling Sora's hair affectionately.

"You should've told me what was on your mind, dummy," he added, bonking the top of the boy's head with his fist.

"I _know_, and I wanted to call you about fifty times last night but I thought you'd be mad and not want to talk to me." Sora said, blush spreading to the tips of his ears.

Riku chuckled as he realized he had probably been cradling his phone at the same time, and pulled the brunette in closer.

"Sora…can I kiss you?" he asked, tilting his head downward so their noses brushed.

Sora smiled shyly and held Riku's hands tighter.

"You don't have to ask…" he whispered as he felt Riku's breath on his skin.

The feeling of Riku's lips pressed against his was a sensation Sora mentally smacked himself for avoiding the day prior. The silver-haired boy's kisses never failed to make Sora's head spin, and now was no exception as Riku parted his lips only slightly, insisting to taking his time as the kiss moved forward ever so slowly. Sora moaned softly at the agonizing pace, running his tongue along Riku's bottom lip greedily, his chest too whirled up with emotions to take things slowly.

Unable to resist any longer, Riku parted his lips more fully and allowed Sora to deepen the kiss, the gentle air flying out the window as Riku groaned right into the brunette's mouth.

Sora could hear some whistling and giggling from some female classmates who always seemed to appreciate the show, but for the first time, he didn't feel a blush creep up his cheeks at all. His surprise with himself made him smile into the kiss, and Riku's lips curled upwards as well, breaking the contact only to pull the smaller boy into another hug.

Sora's smile widened, reveling in the fact that he was one of the only people who knew that Riku was more of a cuddler than even himself; Kairi being the only other person Sora knew of that was keen to the fact.

"Well…that wasn't exactly 'putting some distance between us', now was it?" Riku said, his confidence successfully restored and his smirk back in its rightful place on his kiss-swollen lips.

"Shaddup," Sora mumbled into the fabric of Riku's shirt, savoring the last few moments of snuggle-time before reluctantly pulling away and sitting upright.

"I realize it was a bad plan. You are now the plan-maker in this relationship. Serve your purpose well." The brunette said with a crooked grin, Riku smiling at the smaller boy's not-often-heard sarcasm.

"Well in that case…for my first order of business, I'd like for you to meet me at the beach after dinner." Riku declared, standing up from the bench and extending a hand to Sora.

"Oh? Any special reason?" Sora said, taking the taller boy's hand and fighting off the butterflies that had inexplicably begun to flutter within his stomach.

"You'll see." Was all Riku gave in way of explanation, walking the brunette inside with just enough time to grab some food before the bell rang.

"I'll see you tonight, then." Sora said, exasperated with himself for the stubborn butterflies that wouldn't seem to fly off, even with all his mental scolding that he had been with Riku for _how long_ now?

Riku seemed to sense the brunette's nerves and bit the inside of his lip to keep from smiling. Feeling a swell of fondness for the smaller boy, he kissed him lightly, leaving their desire unfulfilled very deliberately before walking off to his class, unable to hold back the slight strut that the brunette's tongue had put back in his step.

--

Sora took a deep, calming breath before putting the car into park and turning the keys. As soon as he opened the door and his feet hit sand, however, his nerves were back, and it was all he could do not to bang his head against the metal exterior.

"Oh my god. Stop being an idiot. It's Riku. _Riku_! Known-him-your-whole-life Riku. Been-with-him-for-months Riku. Had-plenty-of-sex-with-him-already-so-you-shouldn't-be-nervous-anymore Riku. So why do I feel like a fourteen-year-old girl on her first date?!" he muttered aloud, endlessly frustrated with himself.

With a sigh of defeat, he locked his car and started walking, feet instinctively taking him toward the old tree, their spot since they were big enough to climb it. Riku had sounded casual, but for a reason he couldn't explain, Sora felt a tingling rush of anticipation. Deciding that he could live with the butterflies for now, he marched onward, feet speeding up minutely as the great old tree came into view.

Sora's stomach gave a flip when he saw a shock of silver hair atop one of the branches. He kicked off his shoes and settled them down at the base of the trunk before looking up at his boyfriend, perched in the tree and smiling warmly.

"About time, Sora," he joked, smile turning into an amused grin and Sora huffed at him, climbing the branches with ease and settling down beside the silver-haired boy.

The two boys looked at each other, the butterflies in Sora's stomach beating their wings faster as Riku made no move to speak at first.

"So…" was all Sora could muster, feeling the waves of heat radiating off Riku's body.

The green tank Riku was wearing made his eyes even more striking than usual, and Sora couldn't help the slight disappointment bubble within him and the taller boy moved those eyes away from him to look out over the sunset-drenched ocean.

"Beautiful, isn't it? This place. It always has been. I never really appreciated it though…too busy looking at you." Riku said, voice soft and rather like the breeze that brushed Sora's brown locks by his ears with a faint tickle.

"Riku…don't tell me you're moving away to the distant mountains or something," Sora said with a small laugh that did absolutely nothing to hide his evident nerves. Riku turned to face him and laughed, Sora nearly breathless under the gentleness of that gaze.

"Sorry, I'm just a little nervous I guess." He admitted with a smile.

Sora would have laughed in a _you're__ nervous_?! kind of way, but the other boy's words made the butterflies evolve into full-grown eagles, falcons even, tearing at his insides mercilessly as his heartbeat sped up.

Wordlessly, Riku rummaged through his book bag beside him, producing a small object wrapped in a paper towel. Sora looked from the object to Riku, a question in his eyes as Riku smiled softly.

"It's not in season for another month, so I couldn't just pick one, but thankfully Aerith had some at her shop…"

With that, Riku unwrapped his parcel. White paper fell away to reveal something small and bright yellow, and Sora's breath hitched as Riku pulled it in half, holding it in his palms.

"Sora, the first time we ate this together, I promised you we'd be together forever. But I guess I'm greedy, because I want a little extra reassurance. So I think we better double the magic, hmm?" he said, stealing a page from Sora's book as he bit his lower lip.

"Riku…" Sora said, the stampede in his stomach melting into nothing but a surge of love for the boy beside him.

Silently, the boy reached over, his hands ghosting over Riku's as he took both halves, tossing one into the ocean stretched below them before placing the other half to his mouth. He parted his lips, resting the sweet fruit on his tongue but not swallowing; instead leaning over so his face was inches from Riku's own.

Riku's eyes went wide as he realized Sora's intent, reaching out to brush his fingers against the brunette's cheek before closing the distance completely, gasping as the sweet flesh of the paopu hit his tongue along with the taste of Sora, mentally deciding that the latter was the better of the two.

The boys laughed into the kiss as the fruit juice slid across their lips, threatening to drip down their chins and onto their clothes. The threat was not grave enough to cause them to stop the action, however, and Sora's laugh slid into a moan as Riku's fingers moved to tangle themselves in his brown spikes, tongue doing sinful things inside his mouth.

They continued to kiss even after the fruit had been consumed, the contact only ceasing when the need for oxygen became too much. Sora was all smiles, cheeks heated as Riku licked a trail of paopu juice from the brunette's chin.

Riku pulled away with a grin of his own, encouraged by the smaller boy's reaction.

"Now if I could only get you to do _that_ in school…" the silver-haired boy trailed off as Sora playfully assaulted his shoulder in a distinctly Roxas-like manner, but Riku was not willing to point this out for fear of sending Sora into an indignant I-am-not-just-like-my-brother pout. Instead, he put his arms around the brunette's waist, kissing his cheek and using all his willpower not to ravish the boy senseless right then and there.

"Sora…I have something to ask you." Riku said, his libido giving way to prickling nerves that threatened to reduce him to a stuttering schoolboy.

Sora gave a soft "Yes?" as he rested his hands on Riku's outstretched arms.

"Would you go to prom with me?" Riku said, a little too hurriedly for his liking, and way too unromantic for his liking.

He was about to retract, to backpedal his train of thought and try to salvage the romance of their situation, but then Sora's face lit up in a brilliant, earth-stopping smile, and all coherent thought was promptly erased from Riku's mind as he sat, stupefied, on the tree branch.

"Yes, Riku, I would love to." Sora managed to get out from behind his smile before Riku felt his heart restart its rhythm, deliriously happy as Sora hugged him tight with no further words needed.

Their kissing was only interrupted when they received a pair of simultaneous phone calls, their mothers demanding to know where they had run off to for three hours straight.

Reluctantly, the boys descended from the old tree, their walk back to their cars taking double the time it should have as it was peppered with movement-stopping kisses. Riku squeezed Sora's hand tightly, his lips lingering on the brunette's own as they leaned against the hood of Sora's car.

"Mmm…we really should go, before our moms kill us…" Sora said, disappointment clear on both boys' faces as they unlocked their respective doors.

"So can I call you later?" Riku said with a sly grin. Sora felt a blush creep up his cheeks, not believing for even an instant that Riku planned on an innocent conversation.

"Wait 'till midnight. Rox is staying at Axel's so…just wait until my mom's asleep. Then you can call me," he said, face burning as his own words hit his ears.

Riku sucked in a sharp breath before giving Sora one last kiss.

"You are so fucking hot without even trying." He said, again employing his willpower in keeping his hands to himself.

Sora rolled his eyes, willing his blush to go down as he watched Riku get in his car and drive away, heading for home. Sora started the engine to his own car, catching his goofy smile in the rearview mirror before shaking his head at himself, speeding off into the night with the taste of paopu-laced Riku lingering in his mouth.

--

**Author's Note: **YES, THEY ARE GOING TO HAVE HOT PHONE SMEX, THOSE NAUGHTY BOYS ;D I am so excited to write about their prom! And how all the drama unfolds...I'm sure Seifer will have some things to say. And lots of awkward dancing and hot smooching shall be had by all! 8D

LOL I just ruined the innocence of the paopu fruit...sorry kiddies! xD


	5. Five

**Shout It From the Rooftops**

**Author's Note:** Chapter five is up! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter, for the character cameo and the dialogue between the kids. I love writing for them so much :3

Hope you enjoy it! Comments are, as always, greatly appreciated! :D

--

Chapter 5 - Suit Up

--

The bells jingled over the front door to the shop as a group of teens strolled in from the afternoon heat. The two girls were giggling and pointing excitedly to whatever caught their eye, while the boys seemed quieter but also excited about their shopping excursion. Suddenly, two of the boys gasped in surprise at the sight of the cashier wiping down the small glass counter, and all but ran across the elaborately decorated room to get a closer look.

Cloud looked up from behind his cash register to see his younger cousins snickering from the opposite side of the counter. He sighed inwardly, knowing what he was in for.

"Cloud! You…work here?" Sora said, biting his lip in an attempt to keep the laughter from bubbling out of his throat.

"In a _dress shop_?!" Roxas finished, grinning from ear to ear with amusement. The twins suddenly burst out in laughter simultaneously, clutching their sides and shaking their heads in disbelief.

Cloud glared death rays at the two boys, and Demyx and Axel gulped in fear. Zexion's attention was caught by a painting on the wall and he walked away calmly to inspect it, while Kairi and Naminé were too busy ogling the blonde grad student to feel the wrath of his gaze.

"Hey, it's money, okay? Don't make me come over there and make you say uncle like I did when you were even shorter," Cloud said, cold blue eyes narrowing in amusement at the memories.

Sora and Roxas's laughter promptly ceased, not finding the recollection quite so amusing. Just as Axel opened his mouth to tell Cloud he had that covered where Roxas is concerned, Kairi cut in.

"We're buying clothes for prom, actually! Do you have any dresses?" She gushed, her hands fluttering from her bags to her hair nervously.

"Well yeah…this is, you know, a dress shop." Cloud said, raising a puzzled eyebrow at the redhead.

"Oh! Right. Of course. I'll just be…over here. Come on Nam!" She replied, face red as a tomato as she dragged Naminé to a clothes rack as far away from the register as possible. Sora and Roxas stared after her, bewildered, while Riku chuckled in amusement.

"For your information, I'm watching the store for Tifa. She had to go help Reno. Something about getting his pilot's license revoked…there may have been an explosion…anyway, it's only for the afternoon? Alright? So get out of my face." Cloud explained suddenly in an attempt to rid himself of the twins' question-filled stares.

"So what you're saying is, you're Tifa's bitch." Roxas dared, Sora bursting into fresh peals of laughter.

"That's it, shrimp," Cloud muttered, and Roxas only had time to squeak before he was running for his life, his older cousin catching him easily and holding him in a merciless headlock.

"Ax-el…h-help me out here," Roxas choked out as he struggled fruitlessly against Cloud's grip.

"Uh…Cloud? Can you maybe let Roxas go? He needs oxygen and stuff to live, and I was kinda hoping to have a living date to prom…" Axel said, his catlike eyes pleading.

After another moment or two Cloud reluctantly let go, Roxas doubling over and sucking in gasping breaths as the taller blonde resumed his place behind the counter. Axel strode over to his boyfriend, rubbing his back until Roxas stood up and glared at him.

"_You asked me to save you_," Axel crooned, grinning from ear to ear.

"Yeah, some great idea that was. You fucking pansy." Roxas muttered, making his way over to the men's section of the shop.

"I can't help it Rox! Your cousin is terrifying! You ever see that look he gets in his eye? Like he's going to make you suffer a slow, painful death?" Axel trailed off with a shudder. Roxas rolled his eyes and kissed the redhead on the cheek.

"My hero," he deadpanned, and Axel smiled as they sifted through a rack of dress shirts.

Meanwhile, Zexion had already purchased his suit and lilac tie without a fuss, and was being dragged around by Demyx who wanted to know what shade of blue looked best on him. Kairi and Naminé had taken over the two changing rooms, and Sora and Riku were the appointed outfit judges.

"You know, just because we're gay doesn't mean we have awesome fashion sense!" Riku called to the girls from his and Sora's seat on the small bench beside the dressing rooms.

"Oh please, we _know_ you don't have awesome fashion sense. But I'd hope you could tell us if a dress looks okay or not." Kairi replied, her voice slightly muffled by the heavy curtain that separated them. After another minute she emerged from the dressing room, wearing the third dress she had picked from the racks.

"Well?" She said, giving a little twirl. Her dress was a light pink, framing her figure with a sweetheart neckline and billowing around her feet.

"Wow, Kai…you look great," Sora said with a genuine smile.

"Like a princess. If I was into girls, I'd totally make a move on you," Riku added with a wink.

Kairi blushed and laughed and rolled her eyes all at once, and the three friends shared a look that spoke to their years of closeness.

The trio turned their heads as the second curtain opened and Naminé stepped out. She had tried on a strapless white silk dress that fell just above her knees, a black silk sash cinching in her tiny waist. She smiled shyly as the three took in the sight of her.

"Nam, oh my god, you have to get that one! You look gorgeous!" Kairi exclaimed, the boys nodding their heads in agreement.

"Well, I do like this one…okay. I'll buy it!" She said with a small giggle. The girls went back into the rooms to change out of their dresses as Demyx skipped up to Cloud's register, suit in hand.

"Demyx, are you _serious_?" Zexion said incredulously as Cloud put his purchase into a bag. He had decided on a white suit with a sky blue shirt and an ocean blue tie. Demyx smiled broadly as he swung the bag back and forth.

"You know I'm gonna look good in this, Zexy. Maybe I'll even get you to dance with me," he said in singsong, skipping away before Zexion could determine if he was serious or not.

Roxas bought a simple black suit, white shirt, and black tie, while Axel picked out a black shirt and crimson tie to go with his dark suit. Kairi nervously made her way over to Cloud to have him ring up her dress, a slightly exasperated Naminé in tow. Riku walked into one of the now-empty dressing rooms to try on his suit while Sora went to purchase his own before the girls could get there, not wanting to wait through Kairi's awkward giggling.

After cloud handed him his bag he returned to the dressing room bench, waiting for Riku to reappear. After a few minutes, he heard the silver-haired boy call to him,

"Hey Sora, could you help me with this tie? I can't get it."

Sora set his bag down on the carpet and pulled the curtain open wide enough for him to step inside.

"Your tie? Aren't you always the one fixing mine—" Sora stopped short as he looked up and saw Riku standing in front of him, tie nowhere in sight and in fact dressed only in a pair of low-riding boxers.

"Wha—mmm," Sora mumbled into Riku's mouth as the taller boy kissed him, hard. Sora felt himself being pushed against the back wall and he complied, wrapping his arms around Riku's shoulders as the kiss grew in intensity.

"R-Riku…we can't do this here…" Sora whispered, but Riku's skilled tongue along his throat and his hands pushing up his shirt melted away his conviction.

Riku's tongue dragged along Sora's nipple and the brunette's hands dug into his back, urging him on even as his brain told him this was a very bad idea.

"Can't help it Sora…ever since that phone call I've been dying to have the real thing," he said, his lips pressed to Sora's skin as his kisses fell lower and lower on Sora's exposed torso. He sank to his knees, kissing the brunette's taut stomach open-mouthed, the boy's soft mewls and sharp breaths spurring him on in his actions.

"B-but…_ah! _We're in a public pla—oh god," Sora clamped a hand over his mouth and bit his lip hard enough to draw blood as Riku's hands dipped below his jeans, kneading the hardening muscle there. Riku chuckled, pulling the zipper down with his teeth and about to send the smaller boy to ecstasy when—

"SORA! RIKU! GET THE FUCK OUT OF THE DRESSING ROOM RIGHT NOW!" Cloud bellowed from the opposite side of the curtain.

Sora's eyes widened in horror and Riku's face went paper-white as they froze in place for a few moments. Riku stood up as Sora re-zipped his jeans and looked warily at the curtain that separated them from imminent death.

Suddenly, they were greeted with an eyeful of mullet as Demyx poked his head in.

"Guys, quick! Kairi's distracting him with her feminine charms, run for your lives!" he whispered, disappearing as quickly as he came.

Riku pulled his pants and shirt back on, grabbing his suit and following Sora out of the dressing room. Sora snatched up his bag and they cautiously made their way over to the register, putting their suits on the counter and flinching as Cloud noticed their presence and walked away from a starry-eyed Kairi.

Cloud rang up their clothes without a word, the group of teens waiting in nervous silence for Cloud's impending explosion.

"Thanks for the purchases, guys. Tifa will be happy." He said simply, and eight pairs of eyes widened in shock at the lack of Sora and Riku body parts flying across the store.

They thanked the older blonde and were making their way out the door as Cloud finally spoke up.

"And as for you two…" he said with a dangerous calm, and Sora and Riku froze, turning around to face Cloud.

"You're not allowed in those dressing rooms ever again. And just so you know, Tifa has security cameras in there. I'd watch the internet for a while; you never know _where_ that could turn up…" He said with a smile that was positively sadistic.

Sora and Riku were graciously escorted from the store by the other teens, their jaws opening and closing but not a single word emerging. They made it five good blocks before either boy could speak again, their eyes still horror-stricken.

"D-do you really think…" Sora tailed off, hugging his arms to his chest as if waking from a nightmare.

"You never know. Tifa would probably get a kick out of it," Kairi said, unable to resist teasing them.

Riku's face matched Demyx's suit jacket as he clenched his jaw, grasping Sora's hand for comfort.

"Hey, that's one way to pay for college." Roxas added with a smirk, the group laughing when Sora's face went scarlet and he sputtered something incoherent.

"Who're you going with anyway, Kairi?" Roxas asked as the teens crossed the street.

"That's a surprise!" Kairi replied with a wink.

"Hayner asked Nam!" She added before any of them could protest. Naminé matched Sora as her face heated in a furious blush.

"Naminé, no way! When did he ask you?!" Roxas demanded, upset that his childhood friend and Struggle teammate hadn't let him in on the information.

"W-well, he asked me yesterday…by my locker." She said, looking down at her feet as her blush spread to her ears.

"Took him long enough! God, he's been making puppy-eyes at you for like, _months_. He's kind of a shy one, isn't he?" Kairi said.

"When it comes to girls he is," Roxas replied with a nod.

"You two win the quietest couple award!" Demyx said with a laugh and Naminé's eyes went wide as saucers.

"We-we're not a…a couple! He just asked me to the dance, is all…" she said, suddenly very interested in the trees lining the opposite side of the street.

"You never know…people are supposed to find love at the prom!" Axel said with a goofy grin. Roxas laughed beside him.

"You better not be finding anything at prom," He teasingly warned. Axel put his hand in the back pocket of Roxas's jeans and smiled at him affectionately.

"I already found what I was looking for." Axel said seriously, pressing a kiss to the blonde's temple.

Kairi and Demyx barraged him with scoffing remarks for his cheesy lines, but Sora noticed that Roxas's grin got just a bit wider, and his usual sarcasm was nowhere to be found.

They passed another crosswalk, eventually arriving at the city lot where they had snagged free parking spaces earlier that day. The teens waved goodbye and exchanged excited see-you-tomorrow's as they split into their carpool groups, Demyx taking Zexion and the girls while Sora and Roxas took their boyfriends home.

Roxas kissed Axel goodbye and mumbled about the fact that their mother's three-sleepovers-a-week rule was ridiculous during the ride home. He waited in the car as Sora walked Riku to his porch.

Sora's lips lingered on Riku's own as they stood outside his front door. Sora looked longingly toward the house, and Riku moved in to press his smiling lips to the brunette's cheek.

"You know your mom's rule. Besides, Roxas would drag you out by your hair if you tried to sleep over here while he was deprived of Axel." He said.

"That's true. So I'll see you tomorrow then…I can't believe prom's on Friday!" Sora replied. Riku quirked an eyebrow at the look that passed over Sora's eyes. He caught the brunette's hand, kissing him softly on the mouth.

"We'll have fun, I promise." He said, tugging on a brown spike gently.

"I know. It's just that…I'm not a great dancer," Sora said, biting his lip. Riku burst out in laughter and rubbed the brunette's head affectionately.

"Neither am I. See you tomorrow, Sora. I love you," he said giving him one last peck on the lips.

"I love you too." Sora said with a smile before joining a disgruntled Roxas in the car and speeding into the night, headed for home.

--

**Author's Note:** LOL, THE NEXT CHAPTER IS THE BIG NIGHT x3 I'm aiming to get this fic done as soon as I can since my semester's starting in just a few days (ohmygodwtfhappenedtosummer), so watch for an update! :D


	6. Six

**Shout It From the Rooftops**

--

Chapter 6 - Tonight's the Night!

--

"Holy. Shit. Axel." Kairi choked out, backing away in horror at the sight before her.

The teens stood in Axel's bedroom, frozen among the hustle and bustle of prom day chaos. Kairi stood rooted to the floor, her feet surrounded by strewn pieces of school and dress clothing. The waning afternoon sun filtered through the window curtains, but it was more than enough light to see the horror that settled in Kairi's blue eyes.

"Is…it really that bad?" Axel's voice wavered as he latched onto a last glimmer of hope.

Wordlessly, Kairi fished her compact mirror out of her purse and slowly crossed the bedroom floor, holding it up with a solemn grimace before Axel's eyes.

Axel sucked in a sharp breath, fingers clawing at his fiery locks before resting on his cheeks as he shook his head in terrified disbelief.

"Oh no…no…" he groaned, Kairi shutting her compact with a resounding _click_ that seemed to seal the boy's sudden twist of fate.

Suddenly, Demyx bounced into the room, but his cheerful humming of David Bowie's "Let's Dance" came abruptly to a halt as he took in the sight before his eyes.

"Holy shit, Axel! What happened to you?!" he exclaimed, pointing at the redhead as if he were a rare zoo creature.

Axel emitted something between a squeal and a whimper, and Kairi patted his shoulder in an attempt to comfort him.

"Don't worry, Axel. It's not…that awful. We can fix this," she said, offering a shaky smile.

The door on the opposite side of the room squeaked as Riku stepped into the bedroom, his head swiveling to do a triple-take of the redhead.

"Holy _shi_—"

"DON'T SAY IT!" Axel and Kairi cut off the silver-haired teen.

Riku shrugged apologetically, walking further into the room and giving Axel a once-over.

"Axel, man, it's not that ba—"

"Yes it is! It really, really is!" Axel wailed, throwing his hands up in despair.

"Well…I mean…what _happened_?" Riku could not help asking. The other teens stood, watching Axel expectantly.

"I was just lighting the oven! And the flame jumped so high…" Axel trailed off, a haunted look in his eyes.

From the front, it appeared nothing was amiss, but from the back it was clear that the flames had latched onto Axel's hair. He had cut off the blackened and singed sections, but his long spikes were left horribly uneven from the ordeal.

"It's hopeless. My beautiful, gorgeous, sex-worthy hair…_ruined_! I can't let my Roxie-bear see me like this!" he cried, hanging his head dramatically in his hands.

Kairi pulled herself together long enough to slap Axel's hands away from his face and fix him with a motherly glare.

"Alright, alright. That's enough bawling, you big baby. It's true that your hair looks…well…ridiculous," Kairi held up a silencing hand to prevent Axel from resuming his wailing, "but it is fixable for tonight. So stop whining and put your suit on. Then I'll work with this." she concluded, gesturing at Axel's mane.

Axel nodded obediently and slumped off down the hallway to the bathroom, quietly cursing the heavens and bemoaning his cruel fate on the way.

"God, he's such a crybaby." Kairi said with an annoyed wave in the direction Axel had just gone.

"Yeah, but I mean, it's his _hair_ we're talking about. Axel loves his hair more than a lot of things. In Axel's book of importance, it pretty much goes Roxas, hair, everything else." Demyx said, counting on his fingers, Riku nodding along in agreement.

Kairi sighed in exasperation and retreated to the closet mirror to resume putting on her makeup.

"Hey Demyx, you look pretty good in that white suit." Riku said, a smile accompanying the compliment.

"Thanks! I just couldn't do black. It doesn't work on me…I look like I'm trying to be, like, badass, and failing." He said with a laugh, straightening his blue tie.

"What did Zexion say about it? The suit, I mean." Riku continued.

Demyx quirked an eyebrow in surprise. "What do you mean?" he asked, puzzled.

"Nothing. I just wonder if he likes it too," Riku replied, expression unreadable. Demyx felt his face heat up, but didn't have time to press Riku further as the silver-haired boy elbowed Kairi away from the mirror and began combing his hair out.

The noise of the ensuing battle for the mirror was interrupted by the opening of the door. Riku's throat went dry as Sora entered the room, fully dressed in his black and white suit and navy blue tie. Sora crossed the room and stood before the taller boy, smiling softly before reaching out and straightening Riku's lemon-yellow tie. Riku caught the brunette's hands in his own before he could pull them back, and Sora smiled into the taller boy's gentle kiss.

"You look amazing," he whispered, his breath tickling Sora's ear. Sora's cheeks turned a pleasant shade of pink as he brushed a rebellious silver lock away from Riku's eyes.

"So do you." he replied, his smile widening.

"Are you two making out already?" Naminé said with a teasing smile as she joined them in Axel's room. Kairi squealed at the sight of the fully-dressed blonde, quickly dabbing on a final coat of lip-gloss before running over to the other girl.

"Nam, you are such a total babe! Hayner is gonna die when he sees you," she exclaimed, clapping her hands in joyous excitement. Naminé blushed furiously, nearly jumping out of her skin when the sound of the doorbell echoed through the house as if on cue. She took a deep breath before making her way to the staircase, Kairi trailing behind her, finding an appropriate spot to spy from.

Demyx reacted nearly the same as Naminé when Zexion entered the room silently, his lilac tie complimenting his eyes and hair wonderfully, the darkness of the suit giving his skin a porcelain-like appearance. Zexion's expression became puzzled as he received no bone-crushing embrace from Demyx; in fact, he hardly got two words from the other boy.

"Demyx, is everything oka—oh dear lord, _Axel_!" Zexion exclaimed in horror as Axel returned, dressed in his black shirt and pants and crimson tie, carrying his jacket, and frowning deeply at the state of his hair.

Riku, Sora, Zexion, and Demyx stood in front of the redhead, at a loss for an appropriate course of action.

Kairi reluctantly pulled herself away from her spying, smoothing out her dress before joining the boys and gesturing for Axel to sit down in his desk chair. The other four boys watched in fascination as Kairi attacked Axel's mane with brushes and combs, holding three or four bobby pins in her glossy lips as her eyes narrowed in concentration.

After several minutes and a half can of hairspray, Kairi backed away for everyone to take a look. Axel's hair was nicely pulled back in a ponytail, his shorter spikes framing his face. His longer spikes overlapped each other in the tail, effectively disguising their unevenness.

Axel stood, trying to gage the facial expressions of the other boys.

"Well? How does it look?" he asked anxiously.

"Wow. You look…" Demyx trailed off, eyes side in surprise.

"Yeah, you're really…" Riku attempted to elaborate, but was too distracted with the new look before him.

"_Hot_." Sora finished, the other boys nodding in slightly embarrassed agreement.

Axel's face lit up and he dashed across the room to the mirror. After inspecting himself he gave an ecstatic yelp and tackled Kairi, who yelled in indignation and tried to push him off her dress.

"But do you think _Roxas_ will like it?" Demyx whispered to Sora.

Before Sora could reply, his twin appeared in the doorway, fully dressed in his suit. He and Axel locked eyes for several long moments, and Kairi was about to warn them against engaging in obvious mental sex in front of friends when Roxas finally spoke.

"Your hair." He stated simply, expression blank.

After a beat of unsure silence, Axel's lips curled in a knowing smirk, and the two boys made their way toward each other before meeting in a kiss, sexual tension barely restrained as they kept their body language carefully under control.

"I'd say he likes it." Sora answered Demyx's earlier question with a whisper and a laugh. Riku's eyebrows raised until they were hidden underneath his bangs, and Demyx wolf whistled in order to break the increasingly passionate lip lock.

The pair broke apart, however reluctantly, and the next several minutes were spent in a flurry of jackets, shoes and combs as the teens finished getting dressed.

"We should go downstairs and make sure Hayner didn't faint on the spot from the sight of Nam." Kairi said, shrugging on a thin black cardigan and slinging her sleek silver purse over her shoulder.

She led the procession of boys as they descended the staircase, joining Hayner and Naminé where they stood by Axel's front door. Kairi, Riku, and Sora smiled knowingly at the pair, and Roxas gave Hayner a playful elbow to the side. Both blushed profusely, and not even Zexion could suppress an affectionate smile for the two awkwardly endearing teens.

With a flurry, Demyx was out the front door and in the driveway, Riku, Sora, and Zexion in tow. Axel and Roxas followed Kairi, Naminé closing the door behind her and Hayner.

"Well kids, this is it! Come on Sora, I'm driving you and Riku. Hayner's taking Naminé," she added with a small squeal of glee as she swung open her car door and smoothed out her dress before climbing in. Sora waved at Roxas as he climbed into Demyx's car after Axel and Zexion.

--

**Author's Note:** I'm really, really, REALLY sorry about the lack of updates, guys! I'm back at school and just have no time at all to write D: Originally I intended to upload prom night as one big chapter, but I figured this is better than nothing…again I apologize, and I'll finish this fic up just as soon as I can! Much love for everyone who commented and faved! *sends yaoi paddles to you*


	7. Seven

**Shout It From The Rooftops**

**Author's Note: **Here it is boys and girls, the final chapter! I want to say sorry for taking so ridiculously, incredibly LONG to update, but I feel like "sorry" is so lame...I really, really am though! D8 Now I know what I can get done in school and what I can't. All I can say is I'll try not to have that happen with any future fics. To make it up to you wonderful readers, I really tried to make this the best chapter yet. Even though for half of it I was going "OMG JUST BE DONE ALREADY YOU CURSED THINGGGG" DX. But that aside. Lol. It was a fun fic, and I hope you all enjoy it.

Comments are, as always, so very greatly appreciated.

Thanks for reading! xoxo -Peachy

--

**Chapter 7 - Let All Your Love Shine**

--

It was nearly seven o'clock when the teens piled out of their respective cars, crossing the parking lot to the country club that their school had rented to host the prom. Sora and his group of friends walked through the darkening evening together, slightly nervous, giddy, and eager for the night to begin.

Standing on either side of the large double door that served as the country club's entrance were two men; one tall, broad-chested and smiling, and the other worn, thin, and scowling.

They checked the ID's of the group of teens who approached them, nodding as each junior passed inspection.

"Welcome to your junior prom! Have a glorious time," The fit man declared with an absent toss of his meticulously styled hair, the pale pink layers framing his face and neck flawlessly.

"Oh, we _will_, Mar-Mar. Don't you worry." Axel replied, smirk set smugly on his face as he draped an arm around Roxas's shoulders possessively. Marluxia's pleasant expression slipped into one of contempt as he glared daggers at the student, their eye contact only broken by Roxas very purposefully pulling his date through the building's threshold.

"Welcome to the prom. If there are any shenanigans, I will see to it you are removed from the premises. That is all." The other man uttered as his too-wide eyes narrowed in thinly-veiled annoyance. His long blonde hair hung around his high cheekbones cut severely on his thin, pale face. Sora, gulping, took his ID back from the man and nodded his head.

"Thank you, sir." He said hurriedly as Riku escorted him inside.

The doors slid closed once again as the last of the group ushered inside. The two professors stood in silence for a few moments, crickets chirping in the distant bushes the only other sound.

"Why so uptight, Vexy darling? It must be uncomfortable for you, always walking around with that big ol' stick up your ass." The pink-haired man implored, devious smile gracing his face once more.

"And it must be uncomfortable for you knowing that a seventeen-year-old child can make you so furious, Marluxia." Vexen quipped, cold stare firmly in place.

Marluxia clicked his tongue in dismissal, waving a hand in the air as if to brush off his colleague's disdain.

"No need to be so touchy, Vexy. Honestly, you give a bad name to science teachers everywhere." The taller man stated, straightening his pink tie that matched his hair to perfection.

"_You_ are the one who discredits the field of science. How they even gave you a position at this school is far beyond me," Vexen replied, glaring at the empty space in front of him.

"Environmental studies is just as credible and academically challenging as chemistry. And no one knows the facets of the environment as well as I do." Marluxia said proudly, reminiscing fondly on all the flower bushes he had planted around the school over the years.

Vexen merely scoffed, crossing his arms in front of his chest and standing in silence.

Marluxia cast a sidelong glance at his companion, his eyes twinkling with amusement and something more.

"So _cold_, Vexen. So very bright, and so very cold. But if you like, I could show you a few things that are sure to _warm you up_," his lips curled devilishly at the suggestion, one eyebrow cocked confidently as his layered mane was tousled by an evening breeze.

Vexen's face burned a bright, incredulous red and he sputtered incoherently, making eye contact with his colleague for the first time since their conversation had begun.

Satisfied, Marluxia hummed contentedly as he took the ID's of the next wave of students, Vexen rendered too speechless and immobile to handle the job himself.

The junior prom was, in a word, gorgeous. Dozens of dark wood dining tables were set with pristine silverware atop ornately-patterned carpets, each seat marked with a placeholder, students' names scrawled in fancy script on folded white paper. Giant golden chandeliers dangled from the high ceiling, casting the enormous ballroom in a caramel glow. The dance floor rest in the center of it all, DJ stand still playing quiet pop tunes as students began coming in droves, moving to find their tables or to greet friends.

"Wanna go sit down? I think I see our table over there!" Demyx said, pointing to a table that outlined a corner of the dance floor.

Some of the group nodded, a few starting to make their way over, when Sora put out his hand in a halting motion.

"Whoa whoa whoa. Hold on a minute. I'm not going anywhere until I see who Kairi's date is!" The brunette declared.

"Yeah, Kairi! When do we get to meet the lucky dude?" Riku chimed in, hands on his hips and a goofy grin in place. Kairi burst out in giggles at the earnestness of her one best friend and the playful mocking of the other.

"Hush, both of you! Don't cause a scene. He's right over there." She replied with a vague gesture toward the opposite side of the crowded ballroom.

Sora's eyes followed Kairi's gesture and he soon found himself staring at a tall, brown-eyed boy walking toward them. some members of the group gasped and murmured as they realized who their secretive friend had taken to prom.

The boy came to a halt when he stood right beside a now-blushing Kairi. He stooped slightly in order to fasten a small arrangement of pale pink roses to Kairi's slender wrist, a few stray wisps of brunette bangs falling out of his ponytail and framing his cheekbones.

He quickly stood upright again as he felt the gazes of eight other teenagers upon him. His dark eyes flitted from person to person, finally resting on Sora as he gave a small, awkward grin.

"Uh, hey everybody. I'm Jim. Jim Hawkins. Nice to meet you all." He said with a small smile.

Demyx gasped, turning to his friends with wide, eager eyes.

"Oh, _I _know who you are! He's a junior over at the private school. He's been suspended more times than _Axel_," he exclaimed, pointing at an indignant redhead.

"What, a guy gets suspended one, two…" Axel's eyes went skyward as he tried to recall the number.

"_Eight_," Roxas softly interjected.

"—times, and suddenly he's a standard for comparison?" Axel finished smoothly, his smirk giving away his total lack of anger.

Sora opened his mouth to speak but was drowned out by the music that began blaring from the DJ's speakers.

"WELCOME EVERYBODY!" The DJ exclaimed into his microphone, his loud voice carrying an accent that reminded Sora of long summer days.

"WHO'S READY TO GET THEIR GROOVE ON, YA' KNOW?"

A chorus of cheering and applauding rose from the quickly-filling ballroom.

"OKAY THEN!" Wakka declared with a wide grin as he fiddled with the speaker controls. "Let's get this party _started_, ya' know?!"

The mass of teens scampered to their respective tables, dropping off bags and jackets before making their way to the dance floor. Sora and his friends were no exception, and they quickly found themselves swept up by the current of adrenaline-fueled bodies moving to the infectious beat of a hip-hop tune.

Demyx bounced up and down, trying his hardest to get Zexion's feet moving. Kairi and Jim were talking as they danced, and Sora's heart warmed as he saw a blissful smile break out over his best friend's face. She was also egging on a timid Naminé, who stood beside an equally awkward Hayner, neither quite sure how close they should get to the other.

Meanwhile, Sora watched as his twin moved comfortably with his boyfriend on the floor. Axel's fingers were entwined with the blonde's own and they seemed not to notice the several onlookers that fixed the pair with questioning stares. Sora knew they were aware of the attention and envied their cool as he stood nervously beside Riku.

Kairi, seeming to have a sixth sense for Sora's times of need, grounded his thoughts to reality as she grabbed his hand tightly. Sora's eyes met hers, and he had no time to protest as she swung the brunette around, twirling and dancing with him, Jim keeping his distance in silent understanding. With his mind effectively taken off his nerves, Sora moved in time with his best friend, catching both her hands in his and smiling widely. Kairi looked over her friend's shoulder to lock eyes with Riku, who nodded silent thanks. She smiled and shook her head as if to say _forget it_ before spinning skillfully away from Sora and attaching herself to his silver-haired boyfriend.

Riku's eyes widened in surprise but he caught Kairi by the waist, moving her with ease. After a minute or so, Riku dipped her, laughing as Kairi all but squealed, holding onto him for dear life. With one last twirl, Riku let her go, nudging her back toward her waiting date. Kairi smiled warmly at Jim and let him lead her around the floor, too preoccupied with the boy's dark eyes to check on her friends as much as she would've liked.

Riku looked down at his boyfriend, his smile quickly dissolving as he saw worry leak back into the brunette's eyes. Gently, he took one of Sora's small hands in his own. Blue eyes traveled upward to meet his and Riku's breath hitched, still far too easily consumed by that gaze.

"Sora," he said softly when his voice no longer betrayed him.

"It's not…I mean, we don't have to—"

But whatever words Riku was about to offer the smaller boy were drowned out by Wakka's loud announcement of "IT'S DINNERTIME!" and the procession of waiters carting trays of food to each table. Riku cleared his throat and let his sentence go unfinished as he followed his friends to their designated table.

Dinner went quickly and without much talking; Sora kept his head down and his eyes on his plate, much to the chagrin of his brother, who was watching the brunette with agitated intensity. Axel made a valiant effort to distract the blonde by tracing soothing circles on his lower back, but was only successful at diverting the boy's attention when his hand wandered to a distinctly lower area. Demyx finished his food and left the table in record time, puzzling everyone with his odd behavior. Zexion excused himself and went off in the direction his mulleted friend had gone a moment ago. Roxas stood, successfully catching the attention of his twin and pointed at him.

"Hey, you. Look sharp. I need a word with you," he said, moving toward a distant corner of the room.

Sora followed without a word, and Axel and Riku exchanged a look.

"Brothers," Axel said en lieu of explanation, his suit jacket bunching at the shoulders as he shrugged.

"Demyx. _Demyx. _DEMYX!" Zexion exclaimed, finally catching hold of his friend's jacket as he caught up to him. Demyx whipped his head around, looking down at the panting boy behind him.

"Long trip, Zexy?" he teased, grinning at the boy's breathlessness.

"Shut it. Your legs are considerably longer than mine, so I…never mind." Zexion's face went from indignant to embarrassed as he realized his fist was still balled up in Demyx's suit. He released his taller friend and took a hasty step backwards as the sitar player turned fully around to face him. Demyx waited silently, a small smile playing on his lips.

"I…noticed you left the table rather hastily," Zexion fumbled, now wondering what exactly he had planned on saying to the other boy once he caught him.

"And I…simply wanted to make sure circumstances were…that—that everything was alright." He finished, his hair doing nothing to hide the blush burning deep on his face.

"You want to know if I'm okay?" Demyx asked, arching a brow.

"Well…yes. Generally that is an emotion one feels for someone they care about," Zexion defended, immediately regretting his choice of words.

"I mean…you understand. That I care about you. I—I mean, in the most friendly and platonic way possible, of course, and I…" Zexion trailed off, at a loss for explanations, wishing his friend would help him save face, but Demyx just stood there wearing the same strange smile.

"Oh for god's sake, _say_ something, will you?!" Zexion pleaded.

Demyx sighed, eyes flitting to gaze into the distance before settling back on Zexion's own.

"The truth is, Zexy, I'm not okay. You see, I'm in love with somebody, but he only cares about me in the most friendly and platonic way possible." He said, smile still in place, tossing his head upward with flippant dramatics. But when he lowered his gaze to Zexion, his eyes were clear in their seriousness.

Zexion felt his breath leave his body, limbs tingling with numbness.

"Dem—what?" was all he could muster, eyes wide as saucers.

Demyx leaned forward, placing his hands on Zexion's shoulders.

"You still haven't figured it out, my silly Zexy?"

And then Demyx leaned in closer, his breath ghosting over Zexion's face as the shorter boy held his own and prayed to everything holy that he would not pass out.

"It's all for you, Zexion. It always has been." He finished, voice soft as a whisper.

"I never knew," was the truthful whisper that came from Zexion's mouth, his stomach doing leaps and somersaults inside his abdomen.

Demyx smiled wider now, bringing his mouth inches from Zexion's own.

"Then you must be dumber than you look."

With that, Demyx brought their lips together in a gentle kiss, gasping in surprise as he felt Zexion, after a moment of shocked paralysis, return the kiss wholeheartedly. Elated, Demyx wrapped his arms tightly around the smaller boy, their kiss growing in intensity until the giggling of girls brought them back to reality.

Their mouths parted, however reluctantly, and Zexion now wore a smile to match Demyx's as they gazed at each other with newfound emotion.

"We should go back. They're probably wondering what on Earth happened to us," Zexion managed to get out from behind his beaming smile. Demyx felt a lump form in his throat as he realized he had never once seen Zexion smile quite to brilliantly.

As they trekked back toward their table, they cast a sidelong glance at the twins, standing in a corner of the room and seeming to have a heated discussion. They ruled it best to pass the two without a word.

Roxas, in fact, was becoming very heated as he spoke to his troubled brother.

"_Sora_, man, come on. This is ridiculous. You made it this far only to ditch him at the finish line?" he exclaimed, hands on his hips and speaking with a tone that demanded answers.

"I…I can't! I feel like everyone's looking at us…" Sora trailed off, hanging his head in a mixture of sadness and shame that did not mesh well on his boyish face.

"Please. You're not _that_ important. They're probably just wondering what blonde ice queen sold you that rockin' suit," Roxas replied with a crooked grin.

Sora laughed then, lifting his face to meet his twin's gaze.

"Cloud would murder you for that comment, you know." The brunette said.

"Which is why I did not say it in his remote presence. Now come on. We're going to enjoy our prom with the people we love." Roxas concluded, beginning to walk back to the table and tugging on Sora's sleeve for him to follow.

By the time everyone had reconvened at the table, the music was once again turned up and people were beginning to fill the dance floor once again. Roxas had swept up a blushing Naminé, leading her around while Axel and Hayner pretended to be angry. Jim appeared to go in for a kiss, but Kairi noticed Olette dancing with Pence beside her and turned to greet her, leaving her poor date to awkwardly attempt to play off his failure. Demyx and Zexion were inseparable, and everyone was speculating about what had happened between them. Riku, in the meantime, was standing next to Sora, looking up to the ceiling and wishing he could evaporate, like a bucket of rain, and rise through the atmosphere. His delusions of superhuman escape came to a grinding halt, however, as the warm weight of Sora's hand grounded him to the present moment.

"Hey there." Sora said with a small smile.

Riku blinked and gave the brunette's hand a small squeeze.

"Hey yourself." Riku replied, brushing a few rebellious strays of silver hair away from his eyes.

He opened his mouth to say something further, but thought better of it and, in a bold move, pulled Sora to him in one swift motion and began moving his feet in time with the music.

Sora gave a surprised "Riku!" but did not protest as the silver-haired boy displayed his considerable dancing skill.

"How did I not know you were a good dancer? In the eighth grade you were plain awful!" Sora said with a laugh.

"Yeah, well, I got some dance lessons from Leon, actually. Wanted to make sure I knew what I was doing before I went to prom and made a complete ass of myself," Riku admitted.

Sora broke out in surprised laughter as Riku led him around the dance floor. Kairi saw the pair and smiled, expression matching Roxas's as the little blonde also noticed the two. Four more songs came and went, and Sora danced delightedly with Riku, becoming more and more comfortable as time passed. As the last song ended, however, Wakka switched the track, grabbing the microphone with one hand and gazing into the dimly lit ballroom.

"Alright e'rybody, we gonna slow things down now. So grab your date, or your friend's date, or the next pretty lady you see, and let the love in, ya'know?" He announced, turning up a romantic ballad. Hoards of couples flooded the floor, wrapping their arms around one another and swaying to the slow beat.

Sora looked to his left and noticed that Jim had finally, in fact, gotten a kiss from Kairi, and they stood motionless on the floor as if forgetting how to move their feet as their mouths moved shyly against each other's. Naminé, while she thought no one was watching, placed a light kiss to Hayner's cheek, sending the boy into a fluster as he tried to remember the footsteps Riku had shown him a week earlier. Demyx and Zexion were nowhere near kissing, but they were dancing together, Demyx gracefully taking the lead. They were so wrapped up in each other that it was plain for everyone to see the change between them, their aura totally different than one of close friends.

"About time," Riku said with a smile as they noticed the pair.

Sora could also see Axel to his right, his lanky arms wrapped firmly around his blonde love. Roxas's eyes were shut tight as he kissed the redhead slow and open-mouthed, his hands resting on the nape of Axel's neck. They looked so utterly perfect in each other's arms that Sora felt his lips jut out in envy. Did he and Riku look that way when they held each other tight?

The boy in question turned to face Sora once again, grasping both the brunette's hands in his. As he opened his mouth to speak, however, Sora's eyes met with another pair over Riku's shoulder.

Seifer stood on the edge of the dance floor, glaring his malicious worst at Sora and his boyfriend. Sora's eyes were round orbs as he stared in shock and disbelief at the unfortunate turn of events looking straight in his direction.

His first instinct was to run, to curl his fingers around Riku's as tightly as he could and make a quick escape to a dark corner somewhere, hoping Seifer would lose their scent and move on.

But Riku sank to one knee then, letting go of Sora's hands but extending one of his toward the brunette beseechingly. Unaware of any trouble, his aquamarine eyes looked earnestly into Sora's as he asked,

"May I have this dance?"

Sora's eyes flitted from those of his boyfriend to Seifer's glaring slits. His heart swelled magnificently inside his chest and he squared his jaw firmly, looking down and holding Riku's anticipating gaze.

"Of course," he said, grabbing onto Riku's outstretched hand and pulling him to his feet.

Riku placed a hand on Sora's shoulder, the other keeping its grip on Sora's opposite hand. He led them slowly around the floor with an easy grace that made Sora fall even harder for him.

If Sora had been looking, he would have seen Seifer sputtering in indignant disgust and disappearing from the ballroom. He would have seen his brother swiping tears away from his face quickly before anyone but Axel could see them fall, and Axel smiling warmly at the dancing pair as he would at a particularly beloved child. He would have seen smiles and frowns, cheers and scoffs, Kairi's serene smile and Roxas's elated tears, but Sora wasn't looking anywhere but straight into Riku's eyes, sliding them closed slowly as he felt the electric shock of the silver-haired boy's lips press against his own. Wrapping his arms around Riku's shoulders as the song played out its last few notes in the dim of the crowded ballroom, Sora kissed Riku back with everything in him, and realized with a pleasant jolt that once he let himself fall without fear, he was strong enough to shout out his love from the very highest rooftop.

--

**The End**

--

**Author's Note:** VICTORY KISS WOOOO!!! XD So that's all there is! Except that is actually a lie and there is a juicy AkuRoku bit on the cutting room floor, a.k.a. stowed away in a Word document somewhere...

AND LOL, in case you were wondering about the whole AXEL/MARLY RAAAAAGEEE...Axel and Roxas took Marmar's science class the previous year. Aaaaand Marly, in true form, hit on Rox epically and we all know Axel is not amused when those sorts of things happen...soooo yeah. LOL. Random things from my brain that don't get explained. That's what Author's Notes are for! (/notreally). AND LOL, ZEMYX?! I REALLY wasn't gonna make them gay. I REALLY wasn't. But then Demyx was all OMGAH ILU ZEXIONNNN DO MEEEEEE RIGHT NAOWWWW And I was like D: FINE, DEMYX. HERE YOU GO. So then I had to make Cloud straight with Tifa when everyone knows he more likely would've been gay for Leon LOL. Ah well, sacrifices...just because I hate the "LOL EVERYONE IS GAY" fanfic device. Although I'm sure I've done it, and like this fic, have come close to it...

AHEM. Well, I hope you liked the fic. Maybe if I get lots of nice reviews I'll upload a smutty Axel/Roxas bonus chapter of lemony goodness. Because I'm that nice (/perverted). Let me know what you thought of it!


End file.
